Overview
The Internal Revenue Service announced on March 31, 2011 that the six-year-old Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) pilot program for large corporate taxpayers would become permanent, effective immediately.
Under CAP, participating taxpayers work collaboratively with an IRS team to identify and resolve potential tax issues before the tax return is filed each year. With the major potential tax issues largely settled before filing, taxpayers are generally subject to shorter and narrower post-filing examinations.
The IRS also announced that the CAP program would expand to include two additional components: A new pre-CAP program that provides interested taxpayers with a clear roadmap of the steps required for gaining entry into CAP; and a new CAP maintenance program intended for taxpayers who have been in CAP, have fewer complex issues, and have established a track record of working cooperatively and transparently with the IRS.
Complete details of the expanded CAP program are outlined in a new Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) section, linked below.
CAP Recalibration Resources
- CAP Recalibration Discussion Document (PDF) – September 28, 2018
- CAP Research Credit Questionnaire (CRCQ) (PDF)
- Material Intercompany Transactions Template (MITT) (PDF)
- Material Intercompany Transactions Template (MITT) Instructions (PDF)
- Taxpayer Initial Issues List (PDF)
CAP Information Resources
- IRS Continues Comprehensive Assessment of the CAP Program
- Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) section covering the CAP - Please note, effective September 23, 2014, Pre-CAP and CAP Applications should be submitted to the new CAP Application email account
- Frequently Asked Questions